ARCHIVE - AN EXTENDED READ: BLOOD IN THE WATER - GLOSSARY - SPOILER THREAD - Start Date September 1st

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

This is the glossary thread for the book Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy

by Heather Ann Thompson

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson

https://youtu.be/5WlRQLG0jsA

The first definitive account of the 1971 Attica Prison Uprising. Covering the conditions before the rebellion, the state's violent response, and the victims' decades-long quest for justice--including information never released to the public. For more info: http://bit.ly/2bbGtcX

“Gripping . . . Not all works of history have something to say so directly to the present, but Heather Ann Thompson’s Blood in the Water, which deals with racial conflict, mass incarceration, police brutality and dissembling politicians, reads like it was special-ordered for the sweltering summer of 2016. It’s Ms. Thompson’s achievement, in this remarkable book, to make us understand why this one group of prisoners [rebelled], and how many others shared the cost.” —Mark Oppenheimer, The New York Times

"Blood in the Water is extraordinary—a true gift to the written history of civil rights and racial justice struggles in America.”
—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

[Dave]

I never understood why common sense, humane treatment of prisoners was ignored. People understand that there's a limit to how far you can go in punishing children. There's a limit to how far you can go in training pets. You can't ratchet the screws indefinitely - there's breaking point. The military understood, even in wartime, that trainees have their limits.

Yet common sense was thrown out when in came to prisoners; punishment and mistreatment were increased without limit, a process that became institutionalized. And backfired, horribly.

I'm worried that history will repeat itself, sooner than later. I spend some years as a criminal defense attorney in New York, and it was commonly known that the prisons, in NY and elsewhere, were still substandard. The NYS drug treatment center at Willard was considered a joke, by officials and prisoners alike. Medical assistance to inmates is still poor. Mistreatment of prisoners in privately-owned prisons is well-documented.

A growing public sentiment (my opinion) that prisoners should 'get what's coming to them,' and not worthy of better treatment, seems to be begging another blowup.

[Jeff]

Dave wrote: "I never understood why common sense, humane treatment of prisoners was ignored...

That requires seeing prisoners humanely. People understand that children have value. Pets have value. Prisoners are seen too often as little more than burdens to get through a workday, in a perpetually underfunded and thankless job that most of us on the outside don't give a passing thought about. No one wants to think about prisons, much less pay for them.

Add to that the still-rampant racism and racial tensions coming out of the '60s, combined with laws that leaned more heavily on minorities, and a prison by it's very nature was a ticking timebomb.

And you are not wrong to be worried about today. See the jail in St. Louis recently--where many inside were simply awaiting trial and could be innocent--that had no air conditioning, and the ugly comments people were making on social media. We blame prisoners for getting themselves into their own mess--no matter how bad that mess may be.

https://www-nydailynews-com.cdn.amppr...

[Deb]

I just got thru the actual takeover. Wondering why the author was providing such detail on the cause of deaths and injuries by gunshot. Until the disgusting lies. Sick to my stomach and so heartbroken for those prisoners, hostages and their families. Just absolutely stunned by the atrocities and lies and complete maniacal disregard for human decency in the aftermath. How did any of them survive this??

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Dave wrote: "I never understood why common sense, humane treatment of prisoners was ignored. People understand that there's a limit to how far you can go in punishing children. There's a limit to how far you ca..."

Dave you raise some interesting points and there are a lot of red flags for sure.

Just as an FYI it is fine for you to post here on the glossary thread which is the spoiler thread but the discussion thread which is the non spoiler thread is this link:

Discussion Thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...